Man caught using friend's passport after his own expired

A man from Mali who used a friend’s Senegalse passport to return to Italy after his own documents had expired, has been handed a suspended sentence.

Moussa Sylla, 20, was arraigned before Magistrate Gabriella Vella this morning by Inspector Mario Haber.

Sylla was taken into custody at the airport while returning to Italy, where he is registered, said the Inspector. All his Italian documents were expired and invalid and so he had used someone else’s documents to try and return to Italy.

The inspector asked for a minimum of one month prison time, protesting that “otherwise it’s like we’re doing this for nothing.”

Defence counsel, lawyer Ishmael Psaila, suggested a suspended sentence, saying that sending the man to prison for a month was not ideal in the circumstances.

The court, having seen the man’s admission said that, unlike other cases, a suspended sentence would be better suited to the crime.

Sylla was handed a one year prison sentence, suspended for two years.